These are a few of the stories you will find in this week's printed newspaper:

Lucky dog: After eight harrowing days lost in the Plumas National Forest, a missing Shetland sheepdog was found. He was hungry, tired, cold, scratched, limping on bloody paws and missing some fur. But his tail was wagging.

On trial: The trial for a Quincy man accused of inflicting fatal injuries on a toddler in 2013 is scheduled to begin March 12.

Moving on: Just days after Plumas District Hospital announced that it couldn’t take over Quincy Nursing & Rehabilitation, several residents of the facility have found new homes.

The committee has been working on an action plan that will go to the Board of Supervisors Oct. 18.

To help cushion the financial blow, the supervisors have pledged to transfer $1 million from the county’s Mental Health fund reserves for inmate-related mental health costs.

That’s because the state is giving Plumas County just over $200,000 to pay for the inmate realignment. Many county leaders agree the eventual costs will be much higher.

The implications for Plumas County may not be fully realized for years.

Following are some highlights and statistics from the implementation plan compiled by the Community Corrections Partnership Executive Committee:

History of AB 109

Between 1973 and 2009 the nation’s prison population grew by 705 percent.

In California, the state prisons were operating at more than 170 percent of capacity. And with a recidivism rate of 70 percent, the prisons were bursting at the seams.

In 2009, a panel of three federal judges ordered California to reduce its prison population to 110,000 from 156,000. The official state prison capacity is 80,000.

In May, the Supreme Court upheld the federal ruling. The court ruled for the state to reduce its prison population to 137.5 percent of capacity by May 24, 2013.

The result was AB 109.

Elements of AB 109

Redefining felonies: The definition is revised to include certain crimes that are punishable by 16 months, two years or three years in jail. Serious, violent and sex offenses will continue to be served in state prisons. However, some offenders will be put on probation rather than parole supervision after being released from prison.

Local post-release community supervision: Many felons released from state prisons beginning Oct. 1 will be subject to community supervision by an agency approved by the Board of Supervisors. The county’s understaffed probation department is expected to fill that role.

Revocations heard and served locally: People who violate probation or parole will serve time in the county jail (up to 180 days).

Changes to custody credits: Inmates will now be able to earn four days of credit for every two days served. Time spent in home detention is credited as time spent in jail. As a result, inmates could serve just half their sentence in actual custody.

Alternative custody: Eligible inmates will be placed on electronic monitoring instead of spending time in jail in lieu of bail.

Target population: Inmates released from state prison to community supervision will be the responsibility of the county probation department. These felons can have serious or violent offenses in their criminal history.

Community based sanctions: The county is authorized to use a range of community-based punishment and intermediate sanctions other than jail time alone or traditional routine probation supervision. The offenders might be picking up trash or pulling weeds.

County jail could overflow

The Plumas County Jail has 67 beds to house inmates.

However, the facility is outdated and has safety and housing issues for its staff.

The 67-bed capacity can shrink substantially depending on the fluctuations of male and female population. Problem inmates can make the jail’s capacity even smaller.

And according to information from the district attorney’s office, 34 defendants were sentenced to state prison in fiscal 2010-11.

Had AB 109 been in place, 24 of those people would have remained in the county jail. Of those 24 inmates, the average sentence was 24.33 months.

During the same time period, 455 defendants were sentenced to the county jail as a term of probation. Their average length of stay was 39 days.

The jail also houses inmates being held for probation violations, parole revocations, warrants, immigration holds and other offenses.

The state has estimated Plumas County will assume responsibility for approximately 69 additional offenders by June 30, 2013.

Many local criminal justice officials believe that number will be much greater.